William Chapel (Bill) Burrows, 90, of Rock Island, IL, passed away Saturday, November 13, 2021 at Silver Cross Nursing Center, Rock Island.

Memorial services will be 11:00 a.m. Monday, November 22, at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, 201 E. 4th Ave., Milan, IL, with visitation one hour prior to services. Inurnment, with military honors presented by Milan American Legion Post 569, will be at National Cemetery, Arsenal Island. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Rock Island County Animal Care and Control Shelter.

William Chapel (Bill) Burrows was born in Albuquerque, NM on April 28, 1931 to Dan and Lenore Burrows.

He completed high school at the New Mexico Military Institute.  He met his wife, Miriam Finch at Colorado A&M College where he received his bachelor degree in Agronomy. They were married on June 8th 1952 in Fort Collins, CO.

In 1952, Bill entered the US Air Force spending a month at Kelly AFB and then transferring to McChord AFB.  In 1954, after his release from active duty Bill began graduate school.

Bill received his Master's degree in 1956 and received his PhD in 1959 majoring in Soil Physics with minors including Agricultural Climatology.

He was active in many agronomy and meteorological societies throughout the years.  He was author or co-author of a number of papers in the journals of these organizations.  He was an editor of the Proceedings of the International Conference on Mechanized Dryland Farming.  He also served on several committees of the National Academy of Sciences studying the effects of weather and climate on food production.  Bill was also, active in the Quad Cities Computer Society and RICO Illinois Genealogical Society.

In 1965, he accepted a position at Deere & Co. working there until 1987 when he accepted an offer of early retirement.

The family owned a number of horses and enjoyed going to horse shows. He and Miriam also went on trail rides in Illinois and Missouri, and a very enjoyable one by the Grand Tetons.

He is survived by his wife, Miriam, and four daughters, Marsha Chappell; Sharon (Rod) Burnell, Gilbert, AZ; Connie (John) DeSautelle, Superior, WI;  and Becky (Mark) Catlett, Coal Valley, IL; grandchildren, Nathan Moross, Ben (Jordan) Chappell, Cassie (Will) Boucher, Trent Catlett, and great grandchildren, Wyatt Boucher and Memphis Boucher